School Projects
by Wishes and Words and Etcetera
Summary: Alice Brandon has always been infatuated with the mysterious Jasper Whitlock, and all of her dreams seem to come true when they are assigned to be each others partner for a Psychology project. Second place for best AH in the Twilighter Awards!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, this is just a random story, probably going to be continued. This plot line came to me while I was being all odd in my basement, drinking an amazing thing I just discovered, called a fruit shake (But I put so much ice cream in, it's practically a milkshake) and listening to a new artist I discovered, Automatic Loveletter. I maybe, kinda, probably am in the same kind of situation that Alice is in, except I don't get a happy ending (most likely). The sandwich is for you, dearest.

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own.

**School Projects**

APOV

I checked my watch, the golden hands telling me that I was late. Only a few seconds late, but as I knew, from experience, a few seconds could make all the difference. I pushed open the doors to the cafeteria, scaring a freshman with my exuberance. I scanned the room, until, with a rush of relief, I saw the familiar blond head bobbing at the end of the line up for food, nearly a foot higher than everyone else's in the room.

I glided to where the trays were, and picked up the first one I saw, and then took my place in the line up behind him. I kept my eyes averted, looking at the back of his ankles, rather than gazing adoringly at the back of his beautiful head. His pants were just a little too short, adorably uncool, exposing a flash of rocket ship patterned red socks, under his a-typical skater shoes, done up too tightly to fit in.

He was silent, as usual, as we both shuffled through the line up, waiting for our turn at the buffet of disgusting, trans-fatty food. His backpack had a new sticker on it, an ad for a band that was one of my favorites.

I sighed. One day, when he noticed me, maybe he would realize how perfect I am for him.

His hand started drumming on the side of his thigh impatiently, and I sympathized for him. He was never good with waiting. And even though this was the second best part of my day, I wished the line would move faster, so he could get his food quicker. His stomach grumbled, as it always did.

I wondered if he skipped breakfast in the morning, or if he just metabolized the food quickly.

We made it up to the buffet, and he started loading up his tray with lasagna. I reached beside him, and grabbed a small piece, of garlic bread, my heart fluttering from being so close. He moved onward, and I quickly grabbed some salad, and a small scoop of alfredo sauce drenched pasta, and scurried after him.

I stood behind him as he paid for his food, using only coins, none larger than a quarter to pay for it. I handed the cafeteria volunteer a ten dollar bill, knowing that the change she gave me would be his.

When she handed me the coins, they were still warm. I clenched my fingers around them, trying to absorb the warmth. It was like magic, holding something that was only recently in his hand.

He was sitting at a table for two by the window, all by himself, as usual. He had his food taking up the entire table, and his backpack on the other chair. He had pulled his iPod out from his pocket, and was looking for a song.

I walked by his table just as it started playing, for a moment catching the beginning of the song before I was too far away to hear it.

_I got birds in my ears  
And a devil on my shoulder  
And a phone to the other  
And I can't get a hold of her  
And what's a crush to do?  
And what's a crush to do when he can't get through?_

I smiled again. He had played this song three times this week. I would wonder if he was trying to get a message through, but he was so completely unaware of me, that any idea that he was trying to communicate with me in any way was ridiculous.

I made it to my table for two, my best friend already there, silently rocking out while methodically squishing a peanut butter sandwich. I sat my tray down, and waved my hand in front of her face.

"Hey Bella, come back to earth!" I teased, stealing a sip from her water. She took out her headphones, and smiled ruefully at me.

"Bonjourno Alice, how's life?" She asked, shoving a piece of her sandwich in her mouth. I grimaced.

"Same as usual. Except more homework. You're going to have a take home essay in English, by the way, and the quiz in math was easy. Just remember that logs inverse when they become exponents."

Bella also frowned, taking a swig of her water bottle. We had signed up for many of the same classes at the end of last year, but when we were assigned our classes, our schedules were opposite. I had English and Math in the morning, and Psychology and French in the afternoon. Bella's was the other way around, except with Biology instead of Psychology.

"You get to do a crossword in French today, so if Psychology's easy, the rest of your day will be stress free!" She said, smiling as she demolished the last of her sandwich. She reached back into her brown paper bag, and pulled out a plastic-wrapped bundle of cookies.

I smiled back at her, and grabbed my bag of cookies from my purse. "Whad'ya got?" She said, raising one eyebrow as she opened her plastic wrap to display her cookies.

"I have Esme's homemade banana chocolate chip, ginger snaps, and, of course, Oreos." I said proudly.

She showed me her double chocolate chip cookies, and peppermint wafers. We pushed our loot into the middle of the table, and I grabbed one of her wafers, as she grabbed a handful of my mother's cookies.

We ate in silence, and I contemplated the boy who was four tables away. I wondered if he had anyone that he could be himself with, someone he could trade cookies with, or tell secrets to over the phone. I doubted it. That thought filled me with more unhappiness than I was accustomed to feeling.

I wished that I could be that person to him. I wanted to be the person he could let his guard down around.

Bella looked at me, her eyes open wider than normal, her mouth open, crumbs of banana chocolate goodness falling to the table. She reached her hand and laid it on top of mine, giving me a shake.

I wondered what she was so stunned about, and then I heard it.

_Yeah I'm the first to fall and the last to know  
Where'd you go?  
Now I'm heels over head  
I'm hangin' upside down_

I turned around, and saw him walking towards us, his eyes scanning the room nervously. He walked down the isle, and passed our table. I was so confused; he never went this way before. He continued down, towards the wrong end of the cafeteria, before he turned, and went down between the other tables back to where he started, and exited the cafeteria.

'That was… so weird." I turned to look at Bella. She smiled and grabbed an Oreo, twisting it until it broke into two.

"He loves you." She said, serenely prophesizing an unlikely future.

"Sure, Bella, I bet he decided to walk all the way around the cafeteria just to pass by my table, the girl he's never spoken to, instead of having an actual reason, like wanting to waste time, or being so zoned out he didn't realize he was walking the wrong way." I looked at her with contempt, but she just smiled back at me, before shoving the rest of the cookies into her mouth.

"Heh wuves euu." She said again, spraying me with crumbs.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, just as the bell rung. I sprung up, and shoved all the garbage onto my tray. Bella rolled her eyes at me, and then swallowed her large mouthful. She stood up, throwing her messenger bag over her shoulder, and took my tray from me.

"Enjoy your next class." She said, smiling knowingly. I grinned gratefully at her, and then dashed to Psychology, all the way on the other side of the school.

I skidded to a stop in front of the door, and adjusted my hair and my breathing rate before entering.

He was there. He always was early, either because he enjoyed the subject very much, or to avoid the rush of people in the hallways after lunch. I figured it was the latter.

_Won't you tell me that you're sorry now  
'Bout the 10 years wasted time  
When you avoided my sight 'cause I was crushin' you  
Oh your standards were so high_

His music was on as always, and he was flipping abstractly through the textbook. I took my spot behind him in the corner of the room, and the best part of my day started. We had a few minutes before our teacher bounded in, and I always spent them the same way.

Listening to the overflow of his music, and memorizing the back of his head.

If it weren't massively creepy, I would draw the back of his head every day. Alas, once in grade 10, I was caught with a drawing of a girl from across the classroom, and publicly humiliated, called a lesbian, and all that good stuff.

He sighed when the teacher came in, his wide, beautiful shoulders raising and lowering with the air he inhaled. His left hand clenched and he dropped his textbook onto the desk with a barely audible thump.

He pulled a piece of paper and a stub of a pencil from his backpack, and wrote down his name on the top left corner. Jasper Whitlock.

He used no nonsense letters, leaving his 'J' uncrossed; but the 'k' at the end of his name had a large tail, swirling back to the top of it. I wished that I had taken more notes when we did handwriting in Psychology, so I could figure out whatever secrets were available through his writing.

The teacher, Mrs. Gingham, stood at the front of the class, and clapped her hands together. "Class," She announced, trying to attract everyone's attention. "As you know, we have been learning about scientific experiments for the last week or so, and since we're ahead of schedule, I thought it would be fun to have a project!"

Collective groans filled the room. Mrs. Gingham frowned and went on, "You have been assigned partners, the people whose last name are from the beginning of the alphabet with the people at the end! Here are the partners!"

She paused, reaching for a piece of paper. I was worried. Did this mean…?

"Tony Avalign?"

A deep, "Here" came from the back of the classroom. "You're with… Sarah Zheng?"

A small Asian girl raised her hand timidly, and said "Here."

Mrs. Gingham looked happy with the first pairing, and then moved onto the next. "Valerie Bagdley?" A girl raised her hand with a bored expression. "You're with Lanna Young." The girl beside her squealed, and they both grinned at each other.

"Alice Brandon," Mrs. Gingham called, and I raised my hand.

"Present."

"You're with…" She paused, looking for the name on the list, "Gregory Yeoman."

My heart dropped. A girl in the back called out, "I think he dropped out, he hasn't been here for over a month."

Mrs. Gingham frowned, and crossed something off her list. "Okay, Mrs. Brandon, you're now with… Jasper Whitlock."

My heart soared, and the beautiful blond boy looked up from what he was doodling on his paper, and said, 'What?"

Mrs. Gingham frowned at him, and said "I just said that you are working with Alice Brandon on this next project. Please _try_ to pay attention."

She huffed, and went on with the rest of the list. "Emmett Cullen? You're with Maggie Summers."

A loud whoop came from the back of the room, and people started to laugh. I forgot how to.

I was in a daze. I wondered if this would mean talking to him. I have had plenty of imaginary conversations with him in my mind, but actually speaking to him… I was unsure if I could do that.

He turned around in his seat, looking at me with confusion. I noticed the color of his eyes, a light blue, nearly lavender in this light. He had dark bags under his eyes, but his skin was flawless in every other way. His lovely red mouth was pulled up on one side, in what seemed to be an uncertain smile. His face was delicate, his hair a little too long.

"Hi." He said, smiling a little more.

"Erugh…" I said, my mouth open in shock. His eyebrows furrowed together, and if I had been Bella, my face would have been a deep red by now.

"I'm Jasper." He said, trying again.

"Alice." I said, pointing to myself and nodding. I was right, conversation was a lot more difficult outside the mind.

If he was put off by my caveman manners, he didn't show it. Mrs. Gingham gave us our sheets with the project outline on them, and I was glad for some sort of topic to start on.

"Apparently we have to find the effect of something on people, and how they spend their money." Jasper said, once more trying to break the language barrier between English and whatever it was that I was speaking.

"Well, I think music would work the best for that." I said, finally forming a coherent sentence.

He brightened up; either at the idea of music for schoolwork, or that his partner was not fully mentally challenged. "That sounds good, I like music." He said, with another mind shattering grin.

"I know." I said. He looked confused again. "I mean, I hope so. If you didn't like music I'd have to label you as an extra-terrestrial, or something…"

I coughed, and he looked a bit uncomfortable. He looked down at the sheet again, and said, "Well, we only have to come up with the idea today, according to this timeline, so I guess we're done that part. Tomorrow is planning."

I nodded miserably as he turned away. Why did I have to screw up the first time I've ever been able to speak to him? I mean, I can act normally around most other people. Why couldn't I be myself around him?

He turned back to me, and I smiled at him, using the cute grin that got the school quarterback to ask me out, I had said no, of course, he was too acquiescent for me. And he wasn't Jasper.

Jasper smiled back, and then said, "We probably wont be able to get all of the planning done tomorrow, we'll have to contact stores and find test subjects and everything. I was wondering if you'd like to work on it after school? We could go to my house."

His eyes were nervous for some reason, and I just nodded.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow." He stood up, and started packing up his backpack. He turned on his iPod, and a new song came blaring out.

_Hey girl you know you drive me crazy  
One look puts the rhythm in my hand.  
Still I'll never understand why you hang around  
I see what's going down._

He walked out, halfway through class, but nobody seemed to notice his exit. I sat in my chair, totally stunned at what had happened. I grabbed my cell phone and started a text message to Bella.

**Bells, you wont believe what I just did. HE was assigned to be my partner, and I totally screwed it up. I made him practically run out of class. I can't believe what just happened…**

A few seconds later, I received her response

**Ali, you are a total spazz. But he loves you. I just know it. Plus I can think of several other reasons why he'd have to run out of the room after talking to you… ;)**

I sighed. Bella was no help.

I laid my head on my desk, looking at the wall I sat beside. The rest of the class was laughing and talking and generally being far too loud. They all seemed to be having fun in partners.

I traced a heart on the wall with my right hand.

There was always tomorrow.

A/N: Review?

Pretty please?

Oh, and the songs used are (in order) Risque-Cute Is What We Aim For, Heels Over Head-Boys Like Girls, How We Roll-Plushgun, and Face Down-The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. I hope you liked!

-Terra (Whitlock, but that's just wishful thinking)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, so I said I would update Wednesday, but one day isn't really that much of a difference right? Well, technically two days, since it's after midnight, but oh well.  
The spork is for you, dearest.**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own.**

Chapter 2

APOV

I was early today, and I miserably went through the line up, grabbing a plate full of steamed carrots and peas. I paid for my food quietly, receiving someone else's cold coins for my change.

My day improved drastically when I saw Bella at our table, digging through her bag. I skipped over and set down my tray, retrieving apple juice and butterscotch cookies from my purse.

Bella poked her head up, and laughed scornfully at my lunch. "Hah! Put away that sorry excuse for a lunch! I've got something much better!" She shoved her head back in her bag before shouting, "Aha! I've got it!' She sat up straight, grinning impishly into my confused face, before plunking a container of Oreo ice cream onto the table.

"But Bella! That's been in your bag all day!" She shrugged, before handing me a spork.

"Dig in!" She said cheerfully, pushing my lunch over to the unused side of the table, and popping the lid off the ice cream to reveal liquidy white and black goo. She plunged her spork into the ice cream, and started scooping it into her mouth.

I carefully dipped in my own spork, and raised the creamy substance to my nose, and sniffed it. Oh gosh, it smelled _good_. I sipped it thoughtfully, and Bella nodded at me encouragingly. "It's good, right?" She asked, already knowing my answer before I nodded.

"Definitely better than carrots and peas." She smiled at me, the black Oreo chinks sticking to her teeth. I giggled at her, and took another bite.

I grabbed a carrot, and dipped it in the ice cream. Her eyes widened in shock. "What?' I said, defending my odd mixing of foods. "We have to eat a balanced meal."" She slowly shook her head at me, her eyes focused on something past my shoulder.

I turned around, half expecting to see Jasper walking towards us again. But instead, I saw a beautiful boy with reddish brown hair, green eyes and a big grin headed straight towards us. Or, rather, Bella, as their eyes were locked together.

He reached our table, but neither of them said anything, they just gazed into one another's eyes. 'Hello," I said pleasantly, trying to start a conversation. "My name is Alice." Bella reluctantly tore herself away from her staring contest.

"Edward, this is Alice, she's my bee eff eff eff eff eff eff. And, Ali, this is Edward, he's in my biology class."

He smiled politely, and nodded his head. "How do you do?"

"How do I do what?" I asked, only slightly joking. But their attention was riveted on each other again. I sipped some more ice cream, giving up on being social.

"Ice cream?" Edward asked Bella, tipping his head in the direction of the bucket. She blushed and nodded, unable to speak. He grabbed on of _my_ carrots, and dipped it in, popping it into his mouth. She giggled. "It's important to eat a balanced meal." He said. She giggled again.

I rolled my eyes. She didn't seem so impressed when I said that.

"How does it taste?" She asked him, and he chewed thoughtfully for a moment before he replied.

"Disgusting." They both laughed quietly, the sound of their laughter mixing together like they were born to do that.

I scowled, and dipped in another carrot. I thought it tasted pretty good.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Bella." He said to her, gazing at her adoringly. He looked over the table at me, "Bye, Alice." I waved cheerfully, as he walked away and sat down at a table only three away. He pulled out his iPod, and started tapping his fingers against the table, as if he was playing the piano.

"He listens to classical music on that thing," Bella whispered to me conspiratorially. "He's making his way through the masters. He's on Vivaldi now." She looked over at him and sighed. "Isn't he gorgeous?" She asked.

"Very." I said, before eating another ice cream coated carrot. She chatted on about him for most of lunch, talking about how he lived with his step dad, his father dying, his mother remarrying, and then also passing away. She talked about his passion for music. She told me how he doesn't eat at school, but waits until he goes home so he can make an elaborate meal.

Then she said my name, snapping me out of my half awake state. "Alice…"

"What is it?" I asked, a little grumpily. "Is your Romeo coming over again?"

"No," she frowned, catching my mood. "It's yours"

Then he was at my side, fiddling nervously with his iPod headphones. I saw Edward stiffen from three tables down, and then relax when he realized Jasper wasn't there for Bella. He was there for me.

"Hey Jasper," I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. My pulse was speeding up, and I felt so very short, sitting down while he was standing, not that the height difference would be much improved if I stood up.

"Hello Alice," he said, his voice as smooth as honey. I stared at him, confused as to what was happening. Were we really talking outside of class? His eyes roamed over our table, the empty ice cream bucket, the peas scattered across the table, my shamefully plastic wrapped cookies, Bella's dumfounded expression as she looked at me questioningly. Then me.

He was wearing a beige plaid button up, with the sleeves rolled up, and the collar popped, which made me want to giggle, and brilliant green shoes. I opened my mouth to talk, but he spoke before I could incoherently mumble.

"So, we're going to have to take the bus to my house, if that's okay. I can pay for your bus fare if you didn't bring any money."

I nodded for a moment, and then shook my head. "No, it's okay, I have change."

I smiled up at him, and he smiled back at me. He looked so adorable when he smiled. His eyes got all crinkly at the edges, and they seemed to sparkle. He nodded, and then said "See you soon."

He walked away, following the same bizarre path as yesterday. I looked over at Bella, and she was partially glaring at me, and partially shocked.

"His house?" She asked, her voice a little bit hurt.

"Well you didn't tell me about Edward either." I said. She stuck out her tongue at me.

"So not the same thing." The bell rang, symbolizing the best part of my day, but I had a feeling it would only be the second best.

"Forgive me?" I asked her, as we packed up the remnants of our oh so healthy lunch. She nodded at me, and then started to skip after Edward, leaving me with the tray. Oh well, I suppose it was my turn to pick up on the best friend duties anyways. I put the tray away, and ran to my next class.

He was there, naturally, waiting for me. His headphones were on his lap, his iPod off. I took my place behind him, and he turned around, placing his forearms on my desk. His face was calm, and confident, not like it was in the cafeteria at all.

I tried to smile at him with the same amount of serenity, but I think it came across as slightly pained. I grabbed the instructions from my bag, and placed it between us on my desk. "Today is planning…"

Jasper smiled, "Yeah, I made a list of four different genres that we could play at the store, because I figured we'd have to use no music as our control. I have a place in mind for the store we're going to use, if that's okay?"

My mouth was dry. 'Yeah, it's good. I'm sorry, I didn't prepare anything." Oh gosh. I once more, proved myself to be a complete waste of a partner. First, unable to communicate, second unable to contribute. I wondered what folly I would do next.

He smiled reassuringly at me. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay, so we'll contact the store and make the playlist after school?"

He nodded. "We should make a more defined plan, for what we're going to do, right now."

I grabbed a stack of loose leaf from my bag, and wrote at the top in my loopy script, for lack of a better title, "Psychology Project."

"Creative." I looked over at him quickly, but he was smiling. I had never seen him smile in all the three years I had been obsessively following him, (for I refused to call it stalking). But in the last two days, his face was almost always stretched into a beautiful grin. I wondered if he smiled when he got to converse with everyone else, or if it was just me. It was probably everyone.

I blushed a little bit, and pushed the paper over to him. He grabbed my purple pen, and wrote down, "Step One," underneath my title, in his beautiful writing, a mix of soft curves and sharp edges.

"Creative," I smirked. He laughed, but I was too slow to join in.

We quickly outlined a schedule, planning on doing our experiments twice a week for each genre. Having to do them all at the same time and the same day, it would take five weeks, if we managed to get started this week, leaving one more week to polish up our diagnosis.

The bell rang, and instead of Jasper bolting out of class like he usually did, he stood up, and waited for me to finish packing up, before we left together. We walked to the bus station, talking about our project. Jasper was getting excited with the idea of listening to music for two-hour intervals twice a week. I was looking forward for the time with Jasper.

I dug through my bag, looking for the right change for the bus. I finally got my dollar seventy-five, and Jasper's face lit up.

"Hey! That's my lucky coin! I was wondering where it went!" He said, gesturing towards a slightly rusty quarter, with the date 1701 on it.

"That can't be real!" I protested, inspecting the coin.

"Oh, it's not. Can I trade it back? I'd even give you _two _quarters for that beauty." I shook my head, passing him the coin.

"No, it's okay, I've got a lot of change." Three months of Jasper's lunch money, actually.

"I insist." He said, digging in his front pocket for a quarter. He finally found one, and placed it in my hand, the heat searing into my skin.

Oh god. That had been in his _pants_.

I tried to think of a way to trade the quarter with one from my bag, but the bus arrived at that moment, taking my opportunity and my quarter with it.

We sat down at the back of the bus, as it hurtled through the roads, giving no attention to speed bumps or posted speed limits. Jasper's hand automatically went for his backpack, but then he stopped himself. I felt a bit special. I was more important than music, at least for right now.

We arrived at Jasper's stop not that long after. It was within walking distance, if it wasn't at the very top of a steep hill. He got up, motioning me to follow, as the bus was slowing down, but when the bus came to a complete stop, it lurched backwards, throwing me to the floor.

Jasper looked at me with a worried expression, and I fought back embarrassed tears. Years of being a ballerina, and this is what I get stuck with? Unable to stand up properly on a bus.

We had to walk through a small alley before we got to Jasper's house. It was beautiful, a small yellow house, with white shutters and plenty of windows. There was a hedge separating it from the rest of the world, giving it an other realm-y feel.

"It's nicer in the summer." Jasper apologized. I nodded. I could only imagine this place filled with summer blooms and bright sunlight.

He walked up, and grabbed a key from on top of the mailbox, before unlocking the door. He placed it back, and we entered.

The inside of the house was filled with flowers, and crystals in every window, throwing rainbows onto the floor. "Make yourself at home," he said, motioning me to take of my shoes. I carefully took off my slouchy boots, exposing my dark magenta socks.

Jasper's socks did not match, I noticed. One had blue stripes, and the other green.

"I would ask you if you wanted anything to eat," he confessed, "But I don't know how to make anything."

I waved him off. "It's okay, I've got cookies." I patted my bag.

He stood there awkwardly for a moment, before he said, "Okay. So, upstairs?" I hesitated, and then nodded. He moved to the side, allowing me to go first. I smiled my thanks to him, and wandered up the winding staircase, until I reached the small landing up there, with two rooms on either side.

"The one on the left," Jasper said from behind me. I tentatively reached out towards the handle, resting my hand on it for a split second before turning it, entering into Jasper's room.

"This is my lair." He explained, as I took in the room. Dark red walls, but nearly completely covered up with paper. Poetry, pictures, receipts, magnetic words were all scattered on the wall, the main feature of the room. There was a black bed in the corner of the room, and a black desk next to a large window, with a laptop and a fishbowl on it. He had cleaned it up, or was just naturally tidy, because nothing was out of place. There was an acoustic guitar lying on his bed, as if he had been playing it before he had to leave this morning.

I looked up at the ceiling, which was painted a burnt orange, and had a spiral collage of tickets pasted on it, starting from the bed. "Impressive." I said.

He nodded quickly, and grabbed the laptop from the desk, sitting on the ground. He patted the ground next to him, and I sat down, leaving the door open.

As he opened his iTunes, I dug trough my bag, before finding the slightly crumbled cookies Esme had made. I opened the plastic wrap, and offered him one.

"Thank you," he said politely, and nibbled on the edge of it. His eyes widened with amazement and said, "This is really good."

"I know," I said, a little smugly, breaking part of the cookie off and popping it into my mouth. "My mother made these, she's an amazing cook."

He nodded, and then turned the computer towards me, taking larger bites out of the cookie.

"The genre for this week was classical, which should be easy enough to do." He said, organizing his music into genre. I was surprised by the amount of classical music he had on there, at least 20 songs, maybe more. "Any preferences?" He asked me.

I nodded, breaking off anther piece of cookie. "I love Ghost, the piano trio, composed by Beethoven."

He nodded, and clicked a few things on the screen. "Any others?"

I smiled shyly, "Well, the Flight Of The Bumblebee, of course."

He smiled. "Of course."

"What about you?" I asked. "Which is your favorite?"

"Bouree in E Major," he said, and I nodded. I knew that one as well.

"You should also never forget the Legend of Zelda theme song.' I said, smiling at him, noticing it was in his classical music section.

"Hey, don't make fun. It's one of the best." He said, grinning adorably at me.

We finished the rest of the playlist quickly, adding in the Zelda theme song as the first one to be played.

"So what was the store you wanted to use?" I asked, once we were finished. He looked at me quickly, before looking down.

"Um, my mom owns an organic grocery store just a few blocks away. It's small, but it gets a few customers, and we'll definitely be allowed to use it."

I nodded. "That would be perfect."

He smiled in relief, just as the door opened downstairs. "Jasper, I'm home!" A woman called from downstairs, a southern accent coloring her words.

"Uh oh." He muttered.

"What is it?"

"It's my mother." He sighed dramatically. "That means that you're not going to be able to leave until after she gets a meal down you, and finds out your entire history, and all your secrets."

"That's not too bad," I joked. Lets hope there was one secret I could keep to myself for the time being.

"Lets go downstairs, she knows you're here. Might as well get it over with."

We walked downstairs, headed towards the kitchen, where I could hear some pots banging, and rustling. When we entered, Jasper's mother was up to her elbows in flour already, kneading some dough that must have been made earlier.

"Mom, this is Alice. Alice, this is my mother." Jasper said, making a grad sweeping gesture towards his mother like they do on game shows.

She practically beamed at me. She had her son's silk golden hair, and lithe figure, but had much darker blue eyes, heavily made up.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Whitlock." I said, as politely as I could. She frowned for a moment.

"It's Miss Whitlock, but you can call me Loretta." She said, with her friendly, open voice. I could see how people would end up confessing their secrets to her.

"You'll have to stay for dinner," She said, "Jasper never has enough friends over."

I nodded. "That would be nice."

**A/N: Review? I was going to make this chapter all the way through dinner, but it was getting to eight pages, so I figured I should cut off.**

**Reviews make me update quicker!**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, it sucks. I know. I felt really guilty for not updating, and got over my aversion to this story, and wrote the chapter, to get it out of the way, so I can start on the real story. This is more of a filler chapter. I hope the dinner lives up to your expectations! Love you, Pigeon.

Chapter Three

Alice Point Of View

We sat down at the table for two, Jasper sitting on a mismatching chair. The table was beside a large screen door, leading out to a small backyard absolutely full with greenery. I tried to imagine what it would look like in the summer, when the trees were bearing fruit, and the flowers were in full bloom, but it was so beautiful already, I couldn't picture how it look better.

We had dished out the Mexican food in the kitchen, and grabbed a variety of juice from the kitchen. None of the dishes matched, but they all fit together perfectly. It was all so different from the formal dinners I had at my house, Esme forcing me to sit at the long dining table, and eat a three course dinner even when we were the only ones home.

My quesadilla had only cheese and green onions in it, in comparison to the chicken at red peppers added to Jasper and Loretta's food. Jasper had whispered to his mother than I was a vegetarian, and she didn't put any on mine. I wondered if I had said that in Psychology, but I couldn't remember a time when we talked about eating habits. He then told her a few minutes later that I was allergic to red peppers. I had no idea how he knew that. I had most certainly never told anyone outside my family, except for Bella, about my allergies.

I pretended to not notice, vowing to myself to ask him about that later.

Loretta chattered on about her day, recounting her troubles and her victories in such a comedic way, that I couldn't help but giggle. Jasper laughed at all the right moments, somehow finished eating each bite by the time allotted for laughter. I was always caught off guard, laughing spasmodically, with my mouth full of gooey cheese, or sour lemonade.

Loretta finished telling us about her annoying kleptomaniac employee, who continually stole the stapler from her till, which was terrible when she had to staple together receipts, and how she retaliated today, taking his apron, and hiding it behind the cans of marmalade, made by a woman who lived down the street.

She turned to Jasper, who's face was still twisted into an appropriate smile, as I choked on a tortilla chip. "How was your day, sweetie?"

He contemplated the question for a moment, before answering, "It was decent. I got my lucky coin back, Alice had stolen it." He pointed at me, and I turned red.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't know it was yours!" I cried, swallowing my food quickly. Loretta started to laugh, and Jasper smiled.

"I know, don't worry." He said, and I immediately felt embarrassed. "I also had spaghetti for lunch, and Alice and I got a good head start on our project."

Loretta nodded approvingly, and then turned to me, with the same inquisitive expression. "How was your day, Alice?"

"It was fine," I immediately responded, as I did whenever my mother asked the same question.

"And…" she asked, prodding me for more information. I thought about it for a while.

"I suppose it was pretty good. I had ice cream and carrots for lunch." I said, recounting. Loretta's eyes sparkled, unlike the disapproving look my mother would have given me.

"That sounds delicious. No wonder you were so hungry," she said, gesturing to my now empty plate. I blushed again, cursing myself. I never blushed, but I was continually turning red today.

"It was very good," I said, severely understating the dinner.

Jasper finished the last bit of food on his plate, and agreed, "Yeah, it was great, Mom."

Loretta looked down at her half full plate, and laughed at herself. "I guess I was talking so much, I forgot to eat. Well, no use having you guys watch me eat. Jasper, please put the dishes in the sink, and pull the pie out of the oven."

He nodded, standing up, and grabbing my plate and cup before I could protest. "Oh no, let me help," I said to his retreating back, as he walked through the arch that lead to the kitchen.

"Stay here with me," Loretta said, "Guests don't have to do dishes."

She leaned forward conspiratorially, "Just so you know, you are the first person Jasper has brought home since we moved here from Texas." She told me, looking at me with one eyebrow raised. "In fact I wouldn't be surprised if you were the first person he's talked to, besides me, for the last two years."

Surprised, I thought back to Jasper at school. It was true that he was always alone when I saw him, but I never thought he only spoke at home. I couldn't imagine life without talking to the people in my life.

She continued, leaning back into her chair. "We moved here for my job, and because Jasper had a cousin here, but he never seemed to reach out the way I hoped he would. Do you know Rosalie Hale?" She asked.

"Yes," I said. Rosalie was one of the chosen ones, the popular people that I tried to never pay attention to, but could never go through a day without hearing a new piece of information about her. She was dating the resident jock, a boy who was bigger than most of the teachers in the school, never mind the students.

"She's Jasper's cousin. I had hoped they would reconnect, but Jasper has never told me anything about her from school." I was surprised. Besides blond hair, and the willowy stature, they had almost nothing in common. Rosalie was worshipped, Jasper was unknown.

I must have displayed my shock on my face, but she moved on. "I'm just happy he's found a friend in you, Alice. I really hope that you guys don't grow apart after this project is over. I don't want to see Jasper alone."

At that, Jasper entered the room again, bearing three plates, three saucers, and a golden apple pie. He sat it down in the center of the table, the overwhelmingly good smell of the baked apples filling my nose. He placed down the mismatched plates, and noticed his mother's untouched food.

"What were you talking about?" He accused her quickly. She shrugged, opening her kohl rimmed blue eyes wide.

"Nothing, really," She said, a little too innocently. He glared at her for a moment, and then took her plate away from her. "Hey!" She called after him, but he was gone.

She looked at me sheepishly, before he returned, bearing three mugs of a steaming beverage. I quickly spread out the plates, and the saucers, and he carefully set down the drinks on the corresponding saucers.

He sat down at his seat, and glared once more at his mother, before saying, "That is a vanilla cappuccino, laced with extra sugar, topped with cinnamon and the blood of a pigeon."

Loretta looked at me quickly. "He's kidding. He has a weird sense of humor." I carefully took a sip and was amazed at how good it tasted.

"Yum," I said cheerfully, looking up at his face. He was watching me, his blue eyes intense, in a way I had never seen before. I smiled at him, and he closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, before returning the smile.

Loretta coughed conspicuously, and then reached in between us to cut the pie. "Thanks to you, Jasper, this is all I get for dinner now." She said, breaking the silence.

"It's your own fault," he said, holding out his plate to get the first piece. But Loretta put it on my plate instead. She then cut another piece, and served it to herself. She put the knife down, and began to eat. Jasper pouted playfully, catching my eye, and making my heart soar. I felt a giggle try to escape, and looked down shyly, taking a bite out the pie.

It was so good. Everyone ate silently, even Loretta, finding the pie better than even conversation. I looked up, chewing on a bite of pie, to see Jasper staring at me intently, as if he was trying to figure something out. I met his gaze, but he didn't look away. Neither did I. Trapped in a conversation of eyes, I tried to decode what he meant by his stare.

Again, Loretta noticed, and broke the silence. "This pie is really quite good. I have to thank you Jasper, for taking away my dinner, because now I have enough room to eat another piece."

He looked at her, and smiled fondly, and I looked down at my plate again, as Loretta cut herself another slice. I thought about Jasper as I ate. If I really was the first person he had talked to since moving here, what could that mean? I promised myself to become friends with Jasper, instead of focusing on turning what he had into a relationship. It would be much better for Jasper to have someone to count on, than someone to impress.

I would sacrifice my own feelings for him, hiding them for as long as I could.

I looked up at him again, catching him looking at his mother with sparkling eyes. He had never looked like this at school, his emotions always hidden, his face always beautiful, but empty.

He looked at me, happiness coloring his face, a smile gracing his lips, and I felt a pang in my chest. I wanted to be the reason for Jasper's happiness, I wanted to be the one person he could fully be himself with.

He took a bite of apple pie, as his mother hypocritically chided him for having a second piece, laughter etched in the atmosphere, causing everything to seem like harmless teasing. I took a sip of the hot coffee and Jasper caught my eye. He grinned like we were keeping a secret, as Loretta continued her lecture on healthy eating, reaching for another piece, and I grinned back. I saw no reason why we could not become, at the very least, friends. For now.

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Jasper had given me a ride home, driving in his mother's old, beat up van. Lip gloss, blotting tissues and empty packages of nicotine gum were scattered on the ground, the only thing that seemed Jasper-y was the music being played loudly through the crappy speakers.

_Check yes Juliet_

_Kill the limbo_

_I'll keep tossing rocks at your window_

_There's no turning back for us tonight._

I joined in for the chorus, singing lightly to the window, unable to help myself. Whenever I played this song in my room at home, I would jump on my bed, and scream it loud, pretending to be a part of the band, for at least a few seconds.

_Lace up your shoes_

_Ay oh, ay ohh_

_Here's how we do:_

_Run baby, run._

_Don't ever look back_

_They'll tear us apart_

_If you give them the cha-_

Jasper looked over at me, and I broke off. His expression was incredulous.

"You know this band?" He asked, his blue eyes open wide with almost shock.

I nodded. "Yeah, they are one of my favorites." He turned to face to road again, the song continuing to play.

"Me too." He said quietly, his face clouded.

_Forever will be_

_You and me_

_You and me_

_You and me._

We reached my house, and he slowed to a stop at the edge of the driveway. He took off his seatbelt, and walked around to open my door. I had finally undone my seatbelt with clumsy fingers before that point, saving myself from embarrassment, if he had to wait for me to get off my seatbelt while standing with the door open.

I stepped out, attempting to be graceful, and we walked up the short path to my house, much larger and more formal than Jasper's was. We stopped at the door, and I reached for the handle.

"Thank you very much for letting me stay for dinner, Jasper." I said formally, my previous ease with him completely dissipated.

He smiled, and I saw a hint of the Jasper I had seen at the dinner table. "You are indubitably welcome, Alice." He said, mocking my prim tone. I smiled shyly up at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked, my hand enclosing the door knob.

He looked at me for a moment, seeming to hesitate before answering. He took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'll see you then."

Then he turned and started to jog away. I opened the door, and closed it behind me, hearing the roar of the van come to life, and the music start to play again, starting a new song.

_It's our time to shine through the down_

_Glorified by what is ours_

_We've fallen in love_

_We've fallen in love_

_It was the best idea I ever had_

Esme came into the room, as I placed down my bag. She took in my confused expression, and walked up to me tenderly.

"How was it?" She asked, smiling softly. I gave her a quick hug before responding.

"It was fine." She seemed content with that answer, and started to hover away, probably going to the kitchen to look up some obscure recipe.

"Jasper's mom is a very good cook." I called to her retreating form. "She might even give you a run for your money."

Esme turned around, and I continued. "Their house is very pretty. The garden is small, but full of all the types of plants you can imagine. Jasper's mother is named Loretta, and she's very nice, and likes to tell stories."

Esme smiled fondly at me, and said "That's nice," before going back to the kitchen.

I sighed, and went up two flights of stairs, to my sister's bedroom. I knocked on the door, and there was no reply. I opened it, to see an explosion of yellow, teal and clothing. My sister wasn't there as usual, most likely out with friends instead.

I crept into my bedroom, and grabbed my navy and silver phone, dialing Bella's number from memory.

She picked up before Charlie did, and cheerfully chirped into the phone, "Hello Alice!"

"How did you know it was me?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I didn't. If it was someone else, I would have just hung up anyways."

"Wonderful," I said.

"What's wrong?" She asked, picking up on my tone.

"Just… I don't understand Jasper. He sometimes acts like he really likes me, and other times he doesn't. He just ran away from me just now."

"Hmm." She pondered. "He's being Hot 'N Cold!" She said excitedly.

I sat silently for a few seconds. "What?" I asked.

"You know, like that song from the girl that likes to kiss other girls."

Again, I was silent for a few seconds.

"Come on! You have to know this!' Bella cried, "Like: You're hot and you're cold, you're up and you're down, you're wrong when I'm right, you're black and I'm white…" She trailed off uncertainly.

"What?" I asked again.

"Maybe those aren't the right lyrics," She said after a few more seconds.

"Okay." I said.

"Well, he's a love bipolar." She conceded, her tone suggesting that she had infinite knowledge.

"Okay." I said.

"Oooh, Ali, guess what happened to me after school!" She said, happiness coloring her tone.

Without waiting for me to respond, she prattled on about Edward, and how he was pulled over for speeding by her father, and how his father phoned their house, protesting the rules under which the giving of the ticket had been instigated, his father repeating lines said by Edward who was behind him, unbeknownst to the fact that the phone was picking up his voice too.

She then continued to talk about how she ran into him at her locker, and also after school, until it began to seem that one of them must have been stalking the other, for them to run into each other so many times.

I let her voice tune out, until it was just a background noise, leaving me alone, again, with my thoughts of Jasper.

A/N: The songs that I used are Check Yes Juliet by We The Kings, and A Box Full Of Sharp Objects by The Used. Epic songs, you should check them out. This story has been nominated for the best all human for the Twilighter Awards. The link's on my profile. Go vote for me! And I posted a new story called Finding Freedom, go check it out if you haven't already :)


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